


Burn After Writing

by PeachOasis



Series: To the Edge of the Universe [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Forced Isolation, I put him through some shit, Kuron has PTSD, Kuron is Ryou (Voltron), Kuron is sad, Mental Anguish, Mental Instability, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Shiro (Voltron) Has a Clone, Suicide, Suicide Attempt, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:08:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25005940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeachOasis/pseuds/PeachOasis
Summary: Two weeks after his return, Shiro is beginning to believe that the Galra did much more then just hold him captive.
Series: To the Edge of the Universe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1810402
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	Burn After Writing

**Author's Note:**

> This story is my interpretation of the whole Clone arch. I was deeply disappointed in both the writing and how Kuron was handled. So I’m fixing it.
> 
> Just a heads up, I often write dialogue heavy stories, so I apologize ahead of time.

**Voltron © DreamWorks**

**||•||**

**Chapter 1**

**||•||**

Light flashes before his eyes as pain splits his skull.

_“Bring it over, and strap it down-”_

He can hear voices in his head; they’re loud and make the scar on his face burn.

He can hear voices behind him; they are quiet and muffled, as if he’s under water.

“Shiro? Shiro!”

He can see a face above him; old and withered, but dangerous and full of hate. Her claws dig their way into his cheeks, he’s too out of it and groggy to turn away or even flinch at the pain. A bright purple room, silver flashes and a white light.

_“Tell me doctor, how has this one faired so far?”_

_“Quite well, high priestess, unlike its brethren, we do not see signs of respiratory issues or cerebral deterioration. Its organs all seem to be functioning as promised. Just a few more quintants in a bio-evolution chamber, the removal of the arm, and everything will be ready. Oh, and of course the more ‘cosmetic’ procedures can begin on your say so.”_

_The hand slides down his face to his collar bone and chest._

_“Once his growth is complete, notify me when you begin to reinforce his muscles and attach the prosthetic. I will send a druid to complete the installment. Then you can have your fun, but not too much fun.” Her voice is almost teasing as her hand once again moves down._

He wakes the moment her fingers reach his navel, eyes wide and wet. Blurred faces hovering above his head before everything goes crashing into the darkness.

**||•||**

Cold rushes around him, as he stumbles out of the cryo-pod. Head foggy and footing uneasy when he begins to move. His knees buckle, a foot catching on the edge of the pod. Just before his face hits the floor, he feels hands grab his shoulders. Warm and familiar. Looking up, the faces of worried friends greet him. A small smile makes its way onto his face.

“Hi.”

Everyone surges forward, wrapping their arms around him and bombarding him with questions. He lets out a small chuckle, bring his arms around the others as much as he can.

A few moments pass before everyone steps back. Allura places her hand on his shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.

“You scared us back there. We’ve never seen anything like that before, especially while bonding with a lion. What happened in there?”

“I don’t know,” Shiro shrugs “One moment I’m trying to speak with Black, then the next, my head feels like it’s splitting open. I think I saw something, but I can’t remember what it was. My head doesn’t hurt but my mind is still a bit fuzzy, sorry.”

The princess smiles, “There is no need to apologize.”

“Yeah,” Lance agrees. “We can’t really blame you for it.”

Pidge steps forward, “Maybe being back in the Black Lion triggered a panic attack, I mean-” she shuffles her feet for a second, “maybe what you saw, was the moment you disappeared.”

A shiver rolls through Shiro’s body, yeah, maybe.

“Well, whatever caused it doesn’t matter right now.” Keith said. “What matters is that you’re alright.”

“That is correct, Number Four,” Coran adds, laying his hand on the young man’s shoulder. “So now would be a good time for you to eat something then gain a few hours of rest. Bring in a pod is always draining on the body.”

Hunk perks up and takes Shiro by the arm, “Come on, I’ve got the perfect recipe for this. It’s pack full of nutrients and should help you with energy.” Shiro can’t help but laugh as Hunk all but drags him across the room and to the kitchen.

“Hey, it better not be that dish with the jovo fruit! I am your personal taste tester, not him! I want some!” Lance quickly follows behind, hands waving as he runs.

**||•||**

**“** _How long will this procedure take? I do not see why I am needed, if you haven’t even reinforced his body.”_

_“Don’t be foolish, you will want to see what we have in store for this one.”_

_Someone takes hold of his face, moving it to the left before trailing a finger down the side of his neck._

_“It is quite interesting. We will need to pin Thrunium rods along its clavicle and vertebral column; before adding a breast plate to keep its thoracic cage from breaking. Then we will inject Galran nanotech into each major muscle group. They will keep its muscles from tearing themselves apart every time it uses the arm.”_

_“So?”_

_They let go of his face, allowing to roll back into place._

_“So? Do you not see how important this is? God, as much as I respect the high priestess, at least she knows how important my work is. So, if you don’t mind, you can continue to complain,_ outside _of the room. Or, you can keep_ quiet _and watch it squirm and writhe in pain as we pin its body together.”_

_There was a moment of silence, before the voice above him speaks once more._

_“That’s what I thought. Now, stand over there while we work. Somak, prepare the numbing agent; Fouvrok, is the drill charged?”_

_“Yes, doctor.”_

_“Good, now then, let us begin.”_

_He felt something press against his forehead, as another hand grabs his face. Before he can comprehend anything, something is shoved passed his lips and down his throat. He gages, attempting to pull his head out of their grasp. But the grip only tightens while his nose and mouth are quickly covered. As he tries to move, a series of small pinches crawled across his chest. Only when his body feels heavy does something sharp and cold push through his skin._

Shiro shoots up, his body shaking and covered in a thin layer of sweat. He scrambles to remove the blankets that cover him, when he falls from his bed. He franticly looks around the room, taking a moment to recognize it as his own.

Time slowly passes, as he allows himself to take deep breaths. He moves to lean against his bed, bringing his knees to his chest and burying his head in his arms. God his head was pounding, like a war drum being beaten senseless. And his body, it felt like he had just been run over by his own speeder.

He hadn’t had a nightmare like that in a while. He hadn’t seen that doctor in a while. Moments like this made him want to crawl into a deep dark hole, and disappear forever.

**||•||**

“Widen your stance, Lance. It will be easy to knock you off balance if your legs aren’t wide enough.”

“Got it, Shiro.”

“Pidge, sweep with your left foot. Most of our adversaries are larger; use your smaller size to get in close to knock them off balance.”

“Okay.”

“Keith, try working on-”

“If you say ‘my defense’ I swear to god, I’ll attack you and not Allura.”

Shiro chuckles, watching as Allura takes the small moment of distraction to hit Keith in the back of the knees with her bo staff and send him to the ground.

“And stay focused on your opponent, there will always be distractions on the battlefield.”

Reaching up for Allura’s offered hand, Keith sighs. “God, you sound like _obaa-san_. She would be _so_ proud of her backseat martial artist grandson.”

Letting out a loud laugh, Shiro claps his hand against his younger brother’s shoulder.

“Well, you know she wouldn’t have it any other way. I doubt she would be as easy on you as I am, in fact, she’d be five times stricter. You don’t become an admiral by being soft.”

Walking over to the others, they watch as Pidge rolls away from Hunk, who swings his staff wider than necessary.

“Hunk!” Shiro shouts, startling the young man. “Don’t hesitate.”

“But I don’t want to hit her!”

Shiro can’t help but shake his head in amusement. “I doubt she likes you going easy on her.”

“Yeah.” Pidge quickly rushes forward, leaping to the side and landing in a roll, before striking out with her closest leg. Hunk is quickly swept off his feet. As he falls, his staff comes tumbling out of his hands, landing right when Lance begins to step. With his feet no long under him, Lance flies forward, coming down on Hunk.

Standing triumphantly, Pidge climbs the pile of limbs that are her teammates; striking a pose.

“I don’t like it.” Hunk and Lance groan, as she steps off them; giving her bo one more twirl before grinning manically at Shiro.

“Man, that was fun.”

“I bet,” he agrees. “But I think we’re done for the day. Why don’t you all head to the showers? The past few days have been pretty calm, would it be alright if today was spent relaxing, Allura?”

The princess thought for a moment before nodding.

“I don’t see the harm, but just in case, be ready for immediate deployment. Understand?”

Getting a round of nods and confirmations, everyone makes their way to the locker room when Shiro moves to grab Allura’s arm.

“Wait, princess,” he says in a low tone. “Can you and Coran meet me on observation deck three in two vargas? I want to talk to you both about something private.” Her brows furrow, nodding slowly she turns to him completely.

“Is something wrong?”

Giving her a soft smile, he sneezes her arm.

“I’ll tell you when we’re alone, but until then I’m fine.”

“Shiro-”

“I’m serious, just don’t say anything to the others alright?”

Once again, she gives a small nod before turning for the locker rooms. Letting out a heavy sigh, Shiro calls for the computer to send out a gladiator. An hour and a half of more training won’t hurt him.

**||•||**

Pacing back and forth in the room, Shiro has to keep himself from scratching at the place where his arm met the prosthetic. He couldn’t remember when he felt this nervous, actually; yes, he could. When he was trapped in that Galra fighter, when he lost sight of Voltron, when he had run out of food, water and oxygen.

His heart begins to pound and his mouth go dry. He looks down at his hands for a moment. They were shaking. Not violently, but just enough to be noticeable. God he’s a mess.

He tries to calm his breathing, using the techniques his _obaa-san_ taught him. He takes in a deep breath and holds it for five seconds, before letting it out for eight. For a minute he continues, and when his heart finally calms, he hears the door behind him open. Quickly wiping a hand over his face, he turns to greet Coran and Allura.

“I’m glad both of you are here.”

“Of course, Number One! Why wouldn’t we be? If you are in need of assistance then we will be there!” Coran holds his hand in the air, a wide smile on his face. Giving a small grin in return, Shiro takes in another deep breath. He know that he could trust the two Alteans, but something in his head has him questioning himself.

_Can you really trust them?_

A shiver rolls through his body as an invisible hand crawls down his spine. He shakes his head, inciting another war drum to go off behind his eyes.

“Shiro?”

Looking to Allura, she had a hand out stretched, as if she was preparing for him to just collapse.

“I’m sorry, I-” He stops, bring his hand up to rub his pounding temple. “I asked you both here because I think . . . I think the Galra did something to me, to my quintessence.”

“What?” Allura questions.

Shiro closes his eyes, his head pounding harder.

“I haven’t been able to connect to the Black Lion and I haven’t been able to summon my Bayard. The last time I was this tired was when I was trapped in that fighter!” He didn’t mean to start yelling, but he can’t stop himself.

“My head hasn’t stopped pounding and it feels like I took a goddamn crowbar to the skull. It can’t be from stress; cause God only knows I get enough of those headaches.”

He looks up to meet their eyes, desperation bleeding into his voice. “Please. They did something to me. They strapped me down and fucked with me, I keep seeing druids in my heads. I can’t take the constant pain anymore. I need help.”

Allura quickly steps forward and pulls him into a hug. He clings to her, like a drowning man clings to a life raft. He can feel a hand on his shoulder as they all stand in silence for a few more moments. When he finally lets her go, he rubs his eyes until colors flash. Allura moves her hands to his shoulders, watching him closely. When he finally looks at her, she’s put on her most determined face.

“I will help you, in any way I can. Whatever the Galra and that witch's students have done to you, I will find it, and I will undo it. That is a promise.” His vision blurs as he turns to look at Coran, whose brow is furrowed.

“I will help as well. You have been through much Shiro. I am glad that you have come to us for help and guidance.” Stepping away, Coran moves to the console by the door. With a few commands, he is able to remove the screen.

“I will keep a close eye on both of your vitals, if you wish to do anything now.”

“I want to know what is happening to me.” He turns to Allura, “I want this pain gone.” She gives him a firm nod before taking his hands and guiding him to the floor of the deck.

“If that is what you wish, then you need to clear your mind as much as you can. Focus on my voice, and only my voice.” She moves, laying him down. His back to the floor and his head in her lap. Gently, she takes his head in her hands.

“Just breath with me Shiro, just breath.”

And he does.

||•||

_When she opens her eyes, there is nothing but black. Like looking into the dark expanse to space, only without the stars._

_She calls into the void, not even an echo._

_She walks forward, the sound of her footsteps not reaching her ear._

_There is nothing._

_Then there is something. Or rather someone._

_There’s a whisper behind her, and when she turns, a sigh of relief escapes her lips._

_“Shiro, there you are.”_

_But he doesn’t respond. His face is slack and his eyes are milky white, almost dead as he continues to mumble. Seemingly unaware of his friend as she takes a step towards him._

_“Tasukete. Watashi o tasuketekudasai. Atama ga itainode mō gaman dekimasen. Naze sore ga owaranai nodesu ka?”_

_His voice sounds so small, weak, and helpless as she continues forward. It’s when his body straightens, eyes wide does she stop. Her arms outstretched, ready to catch him only for her to feel a sudden punch to the chest. She goes flying, hitting the ground hard and rolling._

_Looking up, the witch is standing behind Shiro, holding the back of her friend’s head, his mouth open in a silent scream. Her face is split into a sharp toothed grin, like the cat who ate the canary._

_“My, my, what do we have here?”_

_Picking herself off the ground, a red-hot rage boiled in her chest. The princess knew that the witch was responsible, but seeing her, in the mind of her friend, it just made her angrier._

_“Haggar. I knew this was going to be your doing. What have you done to Shiro?”_

_All the witch does was chuckle in return, pulling Shiro to the ground before her. Her hand tightens against the crown of his head, drawing a pained whimper out of him as her nails dug into his scalp._

_The princess takes a step forward, tight fists at her side._

_“Dear little princess, I believe the correct question you should be asking, is what haven’t I done?” She releases his head to trail the back of her hand against his cheek. She places a chaste kiss against one of his temples and smiles down at him. Almost lovingly. It makes the hair on the back of the princess’s neck stand up._

_“He is a rather entrancing, is he not? I remember when I laid my eyes upon him for the first time. How strong he was, how there was nothing but rage in his eyes, a brutal warrior.” She chuckles while she combs her fingers through his hair._

_“If I didn’t know any better, I would think he was part Galra.”_

_Stepping forward, the princess snarls, “Enough.”_

_“I was captivated by that rage, and how he did not falter in battle. How calculating and ruthless he was when he took down his opponents. I needed to have him.”_

_“Enough, Haggar.”_

_“He was extraordinary, and with the proper spells and modifications, he could be the empire’s greatest weapon.” A wicked smile crossed her face as she takes him by the chin._

_“If only I had more like him.”_

_“I said, enough!” With a flick of her wrist, the princess summons a staff, made out of pure quintessence. “I’ve had plenty of you for one day. Give Shiro back to us, or you will face the consequences.”_

_The witch continues to smile._

_“Well, if you’re truly so desperate to have this feeble minded thing back,” her eyes begin to glow, “then you can have him.”_

_Before she could even think, her body seizes; a white hot, blinding pain surges through her body. The princess let out a scream and feels her connection to her friend sever, suddenly back in her own body._

||•||

Allura’s eyes burst open, a scream ending on her lips. Arms curled around her, and a gentle voice in her ear.

“It’s alright, princess, I’ve got you.” Coran spoke softly. As her senses came back to her, Allura open her eyes to the terrifying sight of her friend arching off the ground. Shiro’s mouth is open, his eyes rolled back into his head. The noise that leaves his throat sounds as if he was desperately trying to breath. It’s like he is dying.

His prosthetic was a light, it’s sickly purple glow crawling up his arm, staining his veins violet. His skin - once a sun kissed color – is ashen, as his muscles begin to move. Like snakes, struggling to break free of a bag.

Immediately, he lets out a gasp; his body convulsing, the skin his arm morphing as it is consumed by his prosthetic. It eats away as his body shakes. When it finally stops there is nothing left but ugly, gnarled, metal.

“Shiro?” Allura hesitantly calls, pushing away from Coran. Her body aches as she crawls across the floor to him, taking his head in her hands.

“Coran, call the other paladins, get them here immediately.” She continued to call his name, threading her fingers through his hair, to calm him down.

“Shiro, please, I need you to look at me.”

His eyes appeared hollow, his jaw slack as a wheeze escapes his throat, like the air is being pushed out of his lungs. Then he goes still, his body relaxing, and sinking into the floor.

“Shiro?” Allura gives her friend a shake, as the doors to the deck open.

Keith drops by her side, quickly grabbing his brother’s shoulder and leaning forward. Pressing his ear to his chest, he hears nothing. No thump of a heart or the whoosh of lungs. Sitting up, he turns to his friends, worry and fear written across his face.

“I can’t hear anything.”

Quickly, sound breaks out in the room. Hunk moves forward, almost knocking over the smaller paladin as he began chest compressions. Lance moves to the other side of his friend, immediately starting mouth-to-mouth. Pidge pulls out her palm pad, moving to scan Shiro.

Allura shifts to Keith, pulling him away when she notices his blank stare. His eyes are locked onto his brother’s face, slack jawed and pale. Taking him by the shoulders seems to break him his trance, his eyes going wide as he struggles against the princess.

“Shiro?! ANI?!” He yells, watching as his friends continue chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth. It’s only when Hunk gives out a yelp does he stop.

His eyes are yellow, and his arm is once again glowing that sickly purple. But before another word is said, that arm strikes out, connecting with Hunk.

The young man tumbles backwards, clutching his stomach as his friend swings out and connects with Lance’s head. In a few seconds, Shiro is up, pupil-less eyes trained on everyone.

“Shiro?” Coran whispers, stepping forward. Everyone flinches as a deranged laugh exits the man’s throat.

“Guess again.”

Like lightning, he strikes, arm swinging in Coran’s direction.

Allura moves, kicking the older man in the side to push him out of the way. Shiro’s arm barely misses before he is turning to the princess and his younger brother.

His head cocks to the side, showing far too much teeth as he smiles at them.

“Hi.”

“Haggar.”

Keith shoves away from Allura, both tumbling out of the way as the witch slashes through the air.

“Everyone out!” Allura yells once she gains her footing. Quickly she rolls, as Haggar punches down at her. Increasing her size and strength, she picks Lance and Hunk off the ground, following after Pidge as they all run out of the room.

“Coran, we need to get Lance and Hunk away from this, and find a way to isolate and contain Haggar.” Allura yells, over the sound of heavy footsteps echoing behind them.

“We can’t hurt him,” Keith yells back. “He’s my brother.”

“I don’t think that was you’re brother to begin with. I think Haggar created a robeast that looks like Shiro. But until we deal with this, we can’t think about who or _what_ he is, or is not.”

Lance groans over Allura’s shoulder.

“But he’s supposed to be our friend.”

“Then we should get to the training deck.” Pidge explains, running ahead and turning down the next hallway. She gets a round of odd looks.

“We can activate the invisible maze to contain _her_.” Looking to Coran, the older Altean nods. “Then we can deploy the gladiators to subdue her. We’ve had too many people invade the Castle, starting with Sendak, so I’ve been trying to develop a ‘containment’ program just in case we need help. I’ve only worked on a non-lethal protocol so far, but it should do the trick.”

“I hear another ‘but’ coming.” Keith questions as they round the corner to the training deck. They quickly file in, with Pidge and Coran locking the door behind them as Shiro’s body comes around the corner.

“But I still need to download it and finish inputing more commands. Hunk, Coran and I were going to do a test run once we had the time, but the Galra have a special way of showing up at the worst moments.”

“Don’t jinx it,” Hunk groans as he is placed on the ground by Allura.

Pidge makes her way to the observation room elevator. She turns to Allura and Keith, “We need you two to keep her distracted long enough for the three of us to properly input the code.”

Lance moves to follow, “What about me? What can I do?”

“Number Three, you can provide protection for us. If the princess and Number Four are unable to keep the witch busy, we will need you to neutralize her.”

Lance’s eyes go wide as the color drains from his face.

“Do you mean . . .”

Coran, shakes his head as he places a hand on his shoulder.

“No, but let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” Helping Hunk get off the ground, there is a loud thump at the door.

With a quick acknowledgment for them to hurry, Allura makes her way to the weapons rack and grabs one of the bo staffs. Keith takes out his mother’s blade, willing it to expand as the door once again thumps loudly.

After a few more failed attempts, a purple blade emerges from the metal, burning it’s way down. Cutting a large circle, and ramming the door once more, Haggar steps through. Shoulders hunched over, with her bangs obscuring her eyes.

Standing across the room, Allura can just make out that the witch seems unstable on her feet, like she’s struggling to keep herself up. The witch takes a step forward, and Allura hears a strangled sob escape.

_“Please, stop. You can’t do this. I don’t believe you.”_ For just a second, when she finally looks up, Allura see’s her friend. The terrified man who came to her for help, but as quickly as his haunted face appears, it is quickly replaced by a sickly smile.

“You’re pleas will not save you or the paladins, Y0XT39. You are mine to command.”

Launching forward, lilac blade cuts through the air. Allura and Keith met her in the middle. Allure jumped swinging her staff at his head. Haggar sinks to her knees, sliding across the floor only to meet with a harsh kick to the chest.

Rolling back, the sickly yellow eyes glared at Keith. Standing up, Haggar tuns slightly, keeping Allura in her peripheral as they circled her.

“Ah, the half-breed. My Druid said that you were quite a brutal fighter when you met, just like a Galra.” Keith snarls at the witch.

“Let’s test that, shall we?”

Letting out a war cry, Keith dashes forward, bringing his blade down against Haggar’s own.

The fight is evenly matched for some time, Keith and Allura working flawlessly with each strike and parry, but soon it becomes gravely aware just how powerful Haggar was with the prosthetic. With a heavy back hand to the side of the face, Keith watches as Allura’s staff was cleaved in two.

Before she could react, a boot connects with her chest. Sending her down, her head bounces off the floor with a loud thud.

Groaning, Allura, looks up to finD Haggar, grinning down at her with her blade raised.

“Now to end the line of Alfor.”

Allura’s body tenseS, curling her in a ball in an attempt to protect herself. But all she was met with, is a loud bellow of anger. Peeking through her arms, the sight of a gladiator obscured her view of the witch.

“Allura! Keith! Get out of there! We’re sending up the invisible walls!” Coran yells above them.

Slowly Allura uncurls herself and crawls to Keith, who has his free hand pressed up against a bloody gash that marks the side of his face. Supporting each other, they slowly make their way off the training deck. Turning, four gladiators surround Haggar, jabbing and knocking At her with their own staffs.

In an attempt to run, Haggar grabs one by the arm, throwing it over her shoulder and into an other before turning. Only to be met with a sharp electrical shock and a hard surface. Once again, she moves, running into another surface.

With another shock she finally faces to the gladiators.

“I’m getting tired of this game. Take this clone and do what ever you want to it. It’s served its purpose.”

Her eyes suddenly went wide as a scream of pure agony echoes through out the room, before she drops to the floor. Unmoving.

“Is she gone?” Lance questions.

A few moments of silence pass before Hunk speaks.

“All of _its_ vitals seem to be fine. The heart rate is a little high, and there are signs of brain activity, but I think she’s gone.”

“We won’t know for sure until we do a proper scan,” Allura says, her voice rough as she makes her way to the collapsed body. “We need to get it to a cryopod.”

Keith inhales sharply, “Why? It’s not Shiro. Haggar just said it was a clone.”

“Because Haggar obviously had a plan, and we need answers.”

The sound of the elevator opening has them turning as the other gathered around the body.

“And you’re right, this isn’t Shiro, whatever it really is. But that means that he’s still out there.”

Allura scans her friends.

“It means he’s out there, somewhere.”


End file.
